Dino-ary Code
by QuickStrike15
Summary: Nightscream and Dinobot search for sparks, when the shadow of a Maximal appears with a message. What's the lesson to be learned? Sixth in the series.


"DINO-ARY CODE"  
  
WRITTEN BY  
QUICKSTRIKE15  
(TIEANBRICE@AOL.COM)  
  
Nightscream and Dinobot trek to their spark hot spot.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "So, looks like this is the place."  
DINOBOT: "Indeed. I see nothing out of the ordinary, but that could be nothing more than a charade."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Yeah. I mean, neither sparks nor Vehicons are very out in the open."  
DINOBOT: "We must devise a strategy in order to hunt down the sparks."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Strategy? Here's mine. We look around."  
DINOBOT: "Don't you see, boy? We can't simply...look around. If we do things too simply, there stands a great chance we will miss something."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Sure. Listen, I'm a bat-bot, my ears can hear pretty much anything. If the sparks are here, I'll pick up on them."  
DINOBOT: "Thus, a strategy! You see my point." Nightscream mutters under his breath.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "That's not a strategy, that's a good one of the five senses." Dinobot pretends not to hear.  
DINOBOT: "I'll go out and use my eyes, bat vision no being very accurate." He stomps away.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Hey, I've got some of the best eyes you'll ever find, for your information!" He stops shouting. "Man, how'd I get teamed up with this guy?" He gets wind under his wings, and takes a sky watch.  
  
***  
  
Later, Nightscream and Dinobot reunite.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "You find anything?"  
DINOBOT: "No. If the sparks are here, they've hidden themselves very well."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "I hope no Vehicons already showed and snapped them up."  
DINOBOT: "What kind of attitude is that for a warrior?"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Warrior? Yeah, hi. Uh, I'm no warrior."  
DINOBOT: "Then what do you think you're doing here? Playing Checkers? No, you're fighting against Megatron and the Vehicons! They are the enemies! And the only way to rid the planet of our enemies is to fight them! And to fight them means, you are a warrior!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Okay, good to know. Just never saw myself as that, you know?"  
DINOBOT: "Well, trust me, if you do not start soon, you won't be alive to." He walks away.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Huh?" Nightscream follows him. "What does that mean? Just because I don't look in the mirror right means I'm as good as scrap?"  
DINOBOT: "Through my experience, knowing who you are inside is everything. For if you don't realize your spirit in time, you can make irreparable mistakes. One day, a lifetime ago..."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Great. Now I have to stand here and listen to Uncle War-Stories."  
DINOBOT: "What was that?!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Nothing! I was just saying that it's amazing what you've got to say, since all I have is boring stories."  
DINOBOT: "One day, a lifetime ago, I was Megatron's loyal servant, ally, and what I believed, friend. Although neither one of us knew what friendship even was. Megatron trusted me with everything that had to do with his plans, as far as I knew at the time, and he told me that he was going to steal the Golden Disk. I of course thought this was too much, to steal a sacred relic from a planet of people that could stand in our way. But Megatron feared nothing, so neither did I. We assembled a group of Predacons who craved power to join us, and we stole a ship to escape on. The heist was a success, and eventually, there wasn't anyone who could stop us. Until, a Maximal exploration vessel locked onto our trail. We fought it out, and both ships crash landed on what I believed to be the wrong planet, not Earth. At that point, my ties to Megatron were cut, as they had been weakening for a long time. Megatron was nothing more than an arrogant, self-serving megalomaniac, and I wouldn't stay under the rule of incompetence. So, I left his side to join the Maximals, as leader. So I could show Megatron what a real leader could do! But, little by little, my spark was penetrated by Maximal traits, such as tolerance, mercy, and true friendship. Before I knew it, I was a Maximal. But I had to prove it, for when I saw the prophecy for planet Earth come alive, I knew Megatron was right all along. Because of my honor, I found it necessary to return to my original allegiance one last time. But by then, I knew the truth. Megatron was no one, for he had no one. Megatron would turn on any of his soldiers as quickly as they would on him, and I wasn't in the mood to watch my back every cycle of every decacycle. So I am now a Maximal through and through, and I'm doing what I can to help the planet I once caused so much trouble."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Whew. That was tiring just hearing it." Dinobot grabs him by the throat.  
DINOBOT: "Are you implying that my story was uninteresting?!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "No, no! I meant that you must have gone through the wringer figuring out where you stood."  
DINOBOT: "Oh. Yes."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "So, think you can let me breathe now?" Dinobot unclasps his neck. Nightscream breathes heavily.  
DINOBOT: "Now, I think we've wasted enough time hearing my life story. We must get on the trail of these sparks." He walks off.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Right behind you, Lieutenant Loon." Nightscream follows.  
  
***  
  
Dinobot starts to sniff the ground.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Hoping to find some scooby snacks nearby?"  
DINOBOT: "Fool! I'm searching for the distinct scent of sparks. They give off a small radiation, which strong olfactory glands can pick up, such as those of a raptor."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Wow. Who'd have known?"  
DINOBOT: "You, if you'd listen first and talk later!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Hey, listen, pal! I didn't sign up to be on your team for this mission!"  
DINOBOT: "Yet you took what Optimus gave you without question. So stop whining about it!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Wait a second, I think I'm entitled to tell you that you're being a total freak about this! Everything you've done and said has been tied up in military jargon and technique, and what you did all those years ago on this planet. You've got a serious Energon rod up your exhaust port, buddy!"  
DINOBOT: "What do you think war is about?! It's a serious, calculated chess game, and if you don't pay attention, your enemy will wipe you off the map! This is not a game, child!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Don't call me that!"  
DINOBOT: "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings, infant?!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Oh, that does it! Come on, you and me, right now!"  
DINOBOT: "You must be joking. First of all, I'd mop the floor with your poofy hair, and second, I don't want to waste the slightest inkling of energy on you. The Vehicons may be close, and I want all of my energy to fight them."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "And third, you're scared! But it's okay, if you get too tired, old man, I'll protect you from the big, bad, Vehicons!"  
DINOBOT: "You die...right now!" Dinobot tackles him. "No one calls me old!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "I just did!"  
DINOBOT: "You're actually shoving your luck at this point!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Maybe you could bully all of the other Maximals around back on Earth, but you don't scare me. All I see is some washed-up Predacon who's lost his way since he got a new lease on life. I can handle the rest of the mission on my own. Go home and get some rest, grandpa." He takes into the air, and flies away.  
DINOBOT: "That insolent little...! But, could the words he speak be true? Have I somehow lost the warrior's instinct bred inside me? Is it possible?"  
"Through my life, I've learned anything is possible."  
DINOBOT: "What?" He turns around, and a silver cycle drone tackles him. "Who are you?"  
"What? You don't recognize your own brother?"  
DINOBOT: "You sound just like me!"  
"Well, I should. I'm your clone!"  
DINOBOT: "It can't be! Transmetal 2 Dinobot! I saw you, up there."  
"Don't call me that anymore. I don't have any Transmetal technology within me anymore. Call me Cyclobot!"  
DINOBOT: "I'm about to call you a doctor!" He gets his tail free, wraps it around Cyclobot's neck, and pulls him off. Dinobot then grabs the ground, kicks his feet up, and springs onto them.  
CYCLOBOT: "Never out of surprises, I see. I wouldn't expect less from the great Dinobot, from which I took my name."  
DINOBOT: "You're right, you took it. It was not granted to you. But now I know the truth. Megatron always missed me as part of his command. So he kept trying to create the perfect Dinobot. And he finally did it. The problem was, it was too perfect. And you turned on him, just like I did."  
CYCLOBOT: "I no longer register that poor call of judgment. Megatron personally alleviated me of those mental inadequacies, so I shouldn't have another fault along those lines."  
DINOBOT: "So that's what Megatron calls them, inadequacies. Hmph, you couldn't possibly compare to me. For I have one thing that stands above you. A mind of my own."  
CYCLOBOT: "Not after I rip it out of your head!" Cyclobot burns rubber toward Dinobot. Dinobot ducks, and sweeps Cyclobot with his tail. Cyclobot flies into the air, and lands on his head.  
DINOBOT: "Aw, little bot fall down go boom?"  
CYCLOBOT: "You'll regret making that move!" Cyclobot rushes back toward Dinobot. This time, he stops in front of him, and begins firing his arm blasters. Dinobot nimbly dodges the blasts, and stomps on a steel plate, flipping it into the air. He grabs it, and uses it as a shield. "Excellent maneuver. But can you handle this?" He transforms to vehicle mode, and speeds toward Dinobot. Dinobot has little time to react, and is able to hop on top of Cyclobot.  
DINOBOT: "Stop this now! You won't win simply by making me sick to my processor!"  
CYCLOBOT: "Oh, no. Certainly that wasn't my intention." He stops, and swerves. Dinobot flies off, and sprawls out on the ground. His jaw smacks on the asphalt.  
DINOBOT: "Now tell me, Cyclobot. Where was the honor in that?"  
CYCLOBOT: "Honor is only necessary when dealing with the weakest opponent. I know you, Dinobot, for I am you. And you're...tricky."  
DINOBOT: "You are a fool. Honor is necessary for all opponents, especially the strong ones. It is what separates us from the animals!"  
CYCLOBOT: "You are an animal! A filthy raptor beast!"  
DINOBOT: "An animal, perhaps. But never a monster!" Dinobot charges toward Cyclobot, and tackles him. Cyclobot grabs his tail, and lifts him off. He swings him around and around, before throwing him right into a nearby power generator. The impact shakes him up, and the electric shock blacks him out. He falls to the ground, his body smoking.  
CYCLOBOT: "And as are the rules of the animals, it is survival of the fittest."  
  
***  
  
Nightscream flies around, still searching for sparks.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Boy, this is boring. I've got nothing for almost a megacycle now. What's up? Optimus said there'd be sparks here. I can't even find a bright light. This stinks, almost as bad as raptor-boy. What's his deal anyway? When I find him again, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!"  
INFERNO: "I can do that for you!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Huh?" A red helicopter drone zooms right in front of him, forcing Nightscream to hover where he is. "Whoa, he's fast!"  
INFERNO: "I've had quite a lot of experience flying over the course of my life. And now that I'm on my second, it's like riding a bicycle."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Second life? Who are you? What are you talking about?"  
INFERNO: "Oh, silly me. I haven't introduced myself. I am Inferno, and you will burn in my fires."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Inferno?! You were a Predacon in the Beast Wars!"  
INFERNO: "And am currently a Vehicon in the Techno-Organic War. No autographs, please."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Will you accept a footprint?!" Nightscream flies straight at him, and kicks him in the visor.  
INFERNO: "Fool! Pain is my friend!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Boy, they told me you were unstable, but you're downright nuts!"  
INFERNO: "Prepare to fry!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Try me, lame-flame."  
INFERNO: "Inferno, Afterburn!" He transforms to robot mode. "My activation code was Devastate, but I preferred this one."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Of course."  
INFERNO: "So, are you ready to feel the flames of the very pit?"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Only if you can catch me!" Nightscream dives toward the ground.  
INFERNO: "Fool! You cannot escape!" Inferno flies after him.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Please let me out-fly him, please!" Inferno quickly catches up. "He's so fast!"  
INFERNO: "The flame burns for you!" He cackles wildly.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "That's it. If I'm gonna get scrapped, this guy's not the last thing I'm seeing." He stops, and hovers. "I am transformed!" He transforms to robot mode. "It's finally a fair fight!"  
INFERNO: "Now get ready for a fire fight!" He revs his engines, and pours oil into them. Giant flames shoot up all over his body. "Nifty little trick, wouldn't you say?"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "You'll burn up like that!"  
INFERNO: "Oh, no. I have a special oil which I rubbed on a good time ago. I'll last as long as a match!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "I'm gonna have to start taking this guy a lot more seriously!"  
INFERNO: "Now, fry, flying rodent!" He blows a stream of fire straight at Nightscream. He dodges.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Think...think! How are you gonna cool this guy off?"  
INFERNO: "It's gonna be hot in the old Cybertron tonight!" He cackles, and pours more oil on the flames.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "He's gonna be stupid enough to cook himself!"  
INFERNO: "Fire is wonderful! Allow me to introduce you to it!" He spins quickly, and flames leap off of his body.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "No thanks! Barbecue isn't my favorite!" He flies nimbly, and the flames dance past him.  
INFERNO: "I must admit, you're good."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Well, when you're hot, you're hot!"  
INFERNO: "I'll show you hot!" Inferno pours even more oil on the flames, and it turns him into a fireball.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "I am way out of my league here!" Inferno cackles, and zooms toward him. "I can't fight him now!" He transforms to beast mode, and flies away. The fireball gets closer and closer. "Think fast. Cryonic gases, cryonic gases...the Energon stabilizing factory! They have to pump in frigid air to keep the Energon cubes fresh!" He turns toward the flame sphere. "Come on, blaze-butt! Burn me!" He dives toward the ground. Inferno follows. Once Nightscream reaches ground level, he stops, and flies around looking for the plant. "Please, please..." He finds it. "Yes!"  
INFERNO: "The fire will swallow you whole!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Then let's see it! I'm right over here!" Nightscream, in robot mode, points himself out, and Inferno rushes over. "Hey, Inferno, don't get all worked up over this. Chill!" He uses his sonic sound waves to bust open the pipes, and turns the cryo-gas on Inferno. It extinguishes the flames.  
INFERNO: "No, my beautiful flames!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Looks like you just got burned!"  
INFERNO: "No matter. My only intention was to keep you from your comrade. By now, Cyclobot should have torn him to shreds!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "What? Dinobot's in trouble!" Nightscream prepares for takeoff.  
INFERNO: "You're not getting past me!" Inferno pours oil into his engines again, and flames shoot up. "You really thought you could simply put me out?"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "No. Blow you out." Nightscream grabs a chemical barrel, and tosses it at Inferno.  
INFERNO: "No!" The barrel explodes, and Inferno is blown to scrap.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen! Now, for Dinobot." He transforms to beast mode, and flies back. "Hope I'm not too late!"  
  
***  
  
Cyclobot ties Dinobot to his tail light. Dinobot wakes up.  
DINOBOT: "What? What are you doing?"  
CYCLOBOT: "Tying you to me. I'm going to take off across the sector, and you're gonna follow me all the way, whether you like it or not!"  
DINOBOT: "You're going to drag me, drag racer?"  
CYCLOBOT: "Give him the million dollar prize!"  
DINOBOT: "There is absolutely no honor in this!"  
CYCLOBOT: "If you don't stop it with the honor slag! There is no such thing as honor in the Vehicon ranks! It only makes you weak, and you, Dinobot, are weak!" He transforms to vehicle mode. "Kiss the road, since you're about to occupy many different areas of it!" Cyclobot burns rubber, and takes off. "Ah-ha-ha-ha! Good-bye, twin!"  
DINOBOT: "Good-bye!" His voice sounds far off. Cyclobot spins around, and sees Nightscream biting off his restraints.  
CYCLOBOT: "You fool! Cyclobot, Overdrive!" He transforms to robot mode. "You've ruined everything! This was between me and Dinobot! Inferno was supposed to have dealt with you!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "He was a little busy cooking."  
CYCLOBOT: "Well, I won't warn you again! Stay out of this, or suffer!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Yeah, right!" Nightscream walks toward him, but Dinobot takes a hand to his chest.  
DINOBOT: "No, I will deal with him."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "You sure?"  
DINOBOT: "If I do not maintain my honor, he is my future."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "I understand. Kick his tailpipe!"  
DINOBOT: "Most assuredly." Dinobot steps up to him.  
CYCLOBOT: "Are you ready?"  
DINOBOT: "One thing. I am transformed!" He transforms into a dark reddish-brown robot, with blades jutting out everywhere. He unsheathes two. "Now I'm ready."  
CYCLOBOT: "Die!" He rapidly fires lasers at Dinobot. Dinobot uses his war blades to expertly block each laser.  
DINOBOT: "Is that all you've got?"  
CYCLOBOT: "You've only begun to see what I've got!" He races toward Dinobot. Dinobot leaps into the air, grabs Cyclobot's head with his feet, and flips over. He lands on his hands, and Cyclobot's back meets the ground. Cyclobot is stunned, but gets back up.  
DINOBOT: "You are impressive."  
CYCLOBOT: "It's not over until you're dead!" He rushes back toward Dinobot, but stops short, and wrestles with him. They get over a manhole, and Cyclobot fires a laser. Dinobot is able to deflect it, but it fires off the manhole cover. "Give up!"  
DINOBOT: "I am a warrior! I will never surrender!"  
CYCLOBOT: "Big mistake!" He pushes forward. Dinobot spins on his heel, and twists Cyclobot around. He backs up, and falls right into the manhole. Dinobot grabs his arm.  
DINOBOT: "Hang on! It's a long way down!"  
CYCLOBOT: "And this is a long time coming!" Cyclobot fires from his arm. Dinobot is forced to let go, and Cyclobot drops. Nightscream runs over.  
NIGHTSCREAM: "You get him?" They hear a loud thud.  
DINOBOT: "I think it's safe to say yes."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "You know, Dinobot, at first I thought you were just some slag-spouting saurian."  
DINOBOT: "No doubt where you got that idea."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "But now I see that you really do believe in your honor and justness. And you've got some wicked moves, for an old guy. You're more of a Maximal than I am."  
DINOBOT: "I never thought I'd hear that from you."  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Well, we all have to learn two important lessons sometime."  
DINOBOT: "Two?"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Yeah. There are great things to be learned from your elders, and next time I get in a fight, I'm bringing marshmallows!" Dinobot gives a little smirk. "But there is one thing. We come all the way here, and all we get is a couple of Vehicon headaches! We didn't find any sparks!" Just then, Nightscream spies three orbs floating toward them. "Sparks!" Dinobot turns around, and sees them.  
DINOBOT: "What a stroke of luck!"  
NIGHTSCREAM: "Yes!" Nightscream takes his bag off of his shoulder, and pulls out the spark chambers. "But how did they get here? Why did they come here?"  
DINOBOT: "Sparks are quite a mystery. But I believe that they believe in honor and justness, and seek to find it in everyone." They collect the sparks, and head back to base. 


End file.
